148 AGRICULTURE 



the flower. The bolls are small. This is the earliest well- 

 known American kind, and hence has been used as a means 

 of insuring a crop of open cotton against boll weevils, 

 which become numerous late in the season. The lint is 

 short and readily falls from the bolls. The early varieties 

 of cotton, and indeed of most crops, are not usually so 

 productive as those that take a longer time to complete 

 their growth (Fig. 99). 



The Peterkin group consists of varieties having small 

 seed, some of which are black and nearly free from fuzz. 

 A quality much liked about this variety is the fact that 

 there is a greater weight of lint in proportion to seed than 

 usual. For example, sometimes as much as 37 to 40 per 

 cent of the seed-cotton consists of lint, so that a full bale 

 (500 pounds) is often made from only 1350 pounds of seed- 

 cotton. Among the best-known varieties are Peterkin and 

 Layton. Unfortunately, the bolls are small (Fig. 102). 



The big-boll group takes its name from the large size of 

 the bolls. It requires only 45 to 68 of these to yield one 

 pound of seed-cotton. Much more can be picked in a day 

 than from varieties having smaller bolls. Most of the big- 

 boll varieties are late in maturing, but some of them are 

 medium in maturity. This group needs to be improved by 

 being made earlier, and by an increase in the number of 

 bolls per plant. Among the best known and most productive 

 varieties of this group are Russell (which has large green 

 seed), Truitt, Cleveland, and Cook Improved (Fig. 101). 



Desirable qualities. The ability to yield the greatest 

 number of pounds of lint cotton per acre is the quality 

 most desired. A high percentage of lint is often a means 



